


I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

by lizandletdie



Series: The Adoption!verse [17]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, adoption!verse, toxic levels of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 21:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2747753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizandletdie/pseuds/lizandletdie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four year old Katie sneaks downstairs and gets a nasty surprise on Christmas Eve, luckily her brother is there to explain what's going on.</p><p>The Adoption!Verse Christmas Special</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so basically exactly what it says on the tin. Merry Christmas, everybody!
> 
> I hate that I have to do this, but apparently I do. If you're reading this fic anywhere besides AO3, it was posted without my consent and likely profited someone else. Please consider [donating](https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=CZNGXGNP4PRX4&lc=US&item_name=The%20Mantis%20Fund&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_SM%2egif%3aNonHosted) or swinging by my Tumblr (standbyyourmantis) to let me know what you thought!

 “Bae,” the little voice was whispering, drawing him reluctantly towards being awake. “Bae, wake up.”

He groaned, rolling onto his stomach and away from the noise. There was no way in hell it was already morning and he was not waking up before seven even if it was Christmas.

The little girl reached out and shook his shoulder to the best of her four year old abilities, finally forcing him to acknowledge her.

“Go back to sleep, Katie,” he mumbled. “Santa won't come if you're up.”

“That's what I'm trying to tell you,” she whined. “Santa's already been!”

“Then go back to sleep anyway,” he instructed her. “You know you're not allowed downstairs until Mom and Dad wake up and I'm not taking you.”

Sometimes it was nice being old enough to be considered an authority figure in the house.

“But Bae...”

“What?” he snapped. It wasn't his proudest moment, but she had just woken him from a dead sleep.

She didn't answer him, and finally he rolled over to see what was wrong. Her big brown eyes were filled with tears and her chin was wobbling a little.

“What's wrong?” he was worried now, Katie wasn't usually a crier – at least not over little things. Something was worrying her, this wasn't just thwarted Christmas excitement.

“I...I snuck downstairs.” She confessed. “When I heard Santa. I know I wasn't supposed to, but I couldn't help it!”

Which was precisely why his parents had invested in that Santa suit, because everyone had known she'd do something like that.

“And?” he prompted.

“I saw...I saw Mommy and Santa! And they were _kissing_!”

She burst into tears at that and Bae's jaw just dropped. How did this become his responsibility to handle? He was going to kill his parents, but that was going to have to wait until tomorrow because right now he had to figure out how to spin this into a story that Katie would believe and be comforted by, even though he had half a mind to drag her down to their room and tell them to deal with it.

“C'mere,” he said softly, pulling the covers of his bed back and letting her climb in with him.

She'd stopped seeking refuge in his bed as often this past year, but before that there were months when he'd go to bed alone and wake up with a toddler more often than not, and being invited to spend the night in his room was a rare treat reserved for times when she was particularly upset – offhand, he could think of maybe twice he'd done it before and those were both after particularly traumatic dentist visits. She didn't hesitate before crawling into the warm cocoon of blankets and snuggling into his arms. This was the reason Bae was the only teenage boy he knew who had to be very careful to always be fully dressed when in bed with his very carefully chosen pajamas.

“So what exactly did you see?” he prompted. Damage control would require a lot more information than he had.

“Mommy and Santa were under the mistletoe in the living room,” she sniffled. “And they were _kissing_.”

Bae hated that he was about to ask this question, but it was unavoidable even if he didn't really want to know the answer.

“What kind of kissing was it?” he asked. “Was it like when she kisses one of us?”

A peck on the cheek was easily explained, at least comparatively.

“It was married people kissing,” she said in a scandalized sounding whisper. “For a long time.”

Bae took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. This was going to take all the creativity and sneakiness he'd managed to develop over the course of his life. He was sixteen, she was four. He was smarter than her and he was pretty sure he'd be able to pull this off – if he couldn't trick a four year old then he had way bigger problems than this.

His parents were so going to owe him for this one.

“I won't lie to you, Katie,” he said finally. “But you have to promise not to tell your friends any of this because it's super secret, okay?”

She was looking up at him with big brown eyes the same color as his own and nodding solemnly like he was entrusting her with the launch codes for a nuclear warhead and not the most elaborate lie he'd ever constructed.

“The truth is,” he said slowly. “Dad works for Santa.”

“What?” she narrowed her eyes like she didn't believe him. “But Daddy works at the shop.”

“Why do you think there are so many neat things there?” Bae continued, the lie coming easier now that he'd begun it. “Santa has workshops all over the world, and he has helpers who work on the toys and then deliver them in different places. It's the only way all the kids can get presents in one night. You didn't think one guy could really do all that, did you?”

“No,” she mumbled, trying to sound grown up. “Then why does everyone say it's just Santa Claus?”

“Because it's tradition,” he fudged. “Santa used to do it all by himself back when there were less people, but think about how many people are in town and all over the world. There's no way one guy could go to all the places. It's a twenty hour flight between here and Australia, and that's not counting stopping at all the houses. These days, Santa makes all the lists but he lets his helpers make deliveries.”

Katie seemed to think about this for a little bit, slowly digesting this new piece of information.

“So, the man in the suit was Daddy?”

Bae nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep, it was. That's why he and Mom were kissing.”

“Oh,” she said simply. “Okay.”

“But you can't tell anybody,” Bae reminded her. “It's a secret, okay?”

She flashed a big grin, showing the missing baby tooth she'd been so proud of last week.

“I won't tell anybody.”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

“Alright then,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Let's go back to sleep, okay?”

“Can I sleep here?” she asked.

“Sure, kiddo,” he replied, scooting to lay down on the bed next to her.

Katie happily pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes, and within a few minutes her breathing had evened out and she was contentedly snoring softly next to him. It never ceased to amaze Bae that she was so big and smart now. He'd seen her when she was minutes old, when she was too little to really even see him. She'd known his voice, though. She'd known his parents voices and his right away – the doctor said that was normal, that she remembered the sounds from the womb. She had known his voice before she'd even drawn her first breath.

He had always wanted a sibling when he was a kid, someone who he could share everything with and who would always have his back. Katie was his sister, but they would never have that kind of relationship like his friends had with their siblings. The age gap was just way too big; he would never have to rely on her the way she did him and a part of him wished he hadn't missed that.

But then, nobody he knew had a sibling who loved them so completely. Katie had known him her entire life, and he had always been able to fix any problems she had. If she couldn't reach something, he could. If she fell, he was there to pick her up. If she wanted to watch a movie, he knew how the TV worked. If she was scared, he would protect her. And he had always been able to make those things better, too. He'd never had someone need him so much before and he loved it. He loved Katie. He wouldn't trade being woken up in the middle of the night to comfort her for fights over army men and sibling rivalry, he wouldn't trade being the center of her universe for anything at all.

 

Bae woke up the next morning to his mother knocking on his bedroom door. She let herself in and came over to the bed to shake Katie awake.

“Good morning, sleepy heads,” she said softly to both of them. “Santa came last night, so if you guys want presents you should hurry up.”

Bae internally cringed at his mother's choice of words, but tried not to let it show on his face. Katie was already racing downstairs like a bullet, but Bae lingered behind for a moment.

“Hey Mom?” he said before his mother could follow her youngest. “Can we talk for a second?”

“What's up?” she replied.

“Um, Katie snuck downstairs last night and saw Dad in the Santa suit.”

“Oh yeah? Did she fall for it?”

“Yeah, about that,” he couldn't even look at her for this conversation, instead he started rubbing the back of his head and looked anywhere else he could think. “She was downstairs when you guys were kissing.”

“Oh,” his mother's voice cracked a little. “Oh, God. What did you tell her?”

“I told her Dad works for Santa,” he admitted. “So...if that comes up that's why.”

She had her hand over her mouth and was shaking with laughter, but she managed to get it together enough to go hug him where he stood.

“You're a good brother,” she said, patting him on the head. “Katie is lucky to have you, and so am I.”

He shrugged.

“You guys owe me so big,” he said with a wink. “I think this is like, my own car levels of being a good brother.”

“I'm thinking more 'new video game' levels,” she retorted. “But I'll talk to your dad later.”

They both knew if it came down to Dad's call, Bae was going to get the car if he asked for it. He just smiled, though, and followed his mom down the stairs. Katie was practically vibrating with excitement as she sat directly in front of the tree staring at the pile of presents that had her name on them, thankfully too intensely interested in the colorful paper to notice their mother mouthing _we need to talk later_ to their father. Dad had made cocoa and Bae took the proffered mug before settling down next to Katie on the floor while his mom handed out presents to be opened.

Bae sipped his cocoa as Katie ripped the paper off of dolls and dollhouses and stuffed animals that made noises – everything a little girl could ever want. He got a pretty nice haul, himself. Some games, clothes, a pair of shoes he'd been dying for, and gift cards. Gift cards were basically his favorite thing to get anyway, because they promised a full day shopping by himself and picking out the things he wanted. Bae lived for those little moments of control.

After everything was unwrapped (and Mom was wearing a new diamond necklace), Katie suddenly snapped to attention as though just remembering something. She dashed over to their father and flung herself into his lap, hugging him tight.

“You'll tell him I was really good,” she whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. “Won't you?”

His father looked completely stunned, because of course he was the one person with no idea what was going on. Bae looked at his mother who looked back at him and he took her cue, leaping to his feet and picking Katie up.

“Hey Kiddo,” he said to her as he flopped her over his shoulder. “What's say we go see if the Muppets are on, yeah?”

She squealed in joy at being airborne.

“Wait!” she shouted as he moved her towards the door. “I need Samantha!”

Bae dutifully lowered her to the ground by her ankles to where she could grab her new doll before scooping her back up and carrying her into the living room to find something on TV that would hold her interest long enough for his parents to get through this conversation.

He heard his father's startled _what?_ from the other room, but by the time their parents joined the two of them with more cocoa and cinnamon buns for breakfast he seemed to have settled into his new role as local Santa, only occasionally glancing over at Bae and chuckling a little to himself.

As Bae looked between his sister curled up on the floor with her new toy, and his parents snuggled on the sofa he knew he'd miss this someday when he was too old to be here with them. It had taken a long time for him and his mom to end up here, and he never wanted to lose it.


End file.
